Singapore Press Holdings
Singapore Press Holdings Limited (SPH; Chinese: 新加坡报业控股) is a media organisation in Singapore with businesses in print, Internet and new media, television and radio, outdoor media, and property. SPH has over 5,000 employees, including a team of approximately 1,000 journalists, including correspondents operating around the world. The company is one of the country's "blue-chip" counters on the Singapore Stock Exchange, and makes about S$480–500 million worth of profits every year. History Singapore Press Holdings Limited was formed on 1 January 1984 through a merger of three organisations, The Straits Times Press, Singapore News and Publications Limited and Times Publishing Berhad. In 2009, SPH celebrated its 25th anniversary and for the first time, changed its corporate logo. The new logo was launched on 30 March 2009 by former President S. R. Nathan and chairman Tony Tan Keng Yam. Ownership Like all newspaper companies in Singapore, SPH is regulated by the Newspaper and Printing Presses Act of 1974 and issues both management and ordinary shares. As specified by the act all issues and transfers of management shares have to be approved by the Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts, and in "any resolution relating to the appointment or dismissal of a director or any member of the staff" the vote of one management share is equivalent to 200 ordinary shares. There are close ties between the directors of SPH and the Singapore Government. S. R. Nathan, Director of the Security and Intelligence Division and later President of Singapore served as SPH's Executive chairman from 1982 to 1988 and the first President (1994–2002) of SPH was Tjong Yik Min, former chief of the Internal Security Department. The immediate former Chairman of SPH, Tony Tan was Deputy Prime Minister of Singapore from 1994 to 2005 and President of Singapore from 2011–present. Dr Lee Boon Yang is the current chairman of Singapore Press Holdings. Newspapers In Singapore, SPH publishes 18 newspaper titles in four languages. On an average day, 3.05 million individuals or 76 per cent of people above 15 years old, read one of SPH's news publications. English *The Straits Times *The Sunday Times *Business Times *The Business Times Weekend *The New Paper * The New Paper Sunday *tabla! – free English language newspaper for the Indian community; 30,000 copies distributed each Friday at 7-Eleven outlets. Chinese *Lianhe Zaobao (联合早报) *Lianhe Zaobao Sunday (联合早报星期日) *Lianhe Wanbao (联合晚报) *Shin Min Daily News (新明日报) *My Paper (我报) *zbCOMMA (早报逗号) *Thumbs Up (大拇指) *Thumbs Up Junior (小拇指） *Thumbs Up Little Junior (小小拇指） Malay *Berita Harian *Berita Minggu Tamil *Tamil Murasu (தமிழ் முரசு) ''TODAY'' SPH has 40% joint management with MediaCorp which publishes the free newspaper TODAY. Magazines SPH also publishes and produces more than 100 magazine titles in Singapore and the region, covering a broad range of interests from lifestyle to information technology. Online Beyond print, the Internet editions of SPH newspapers enjoy over 360 million page views with 23 million unique visitors every month. Apart from AsiaOne, SPH's online and new media initiatives include ST701, the leading online marketplace for jobs (STJobs), property (STProperty), cars (sgCarMart.com) and general classifieds (STClassifieds); STOMP, SPH Razor. SPH also launched The Straits Times' iPad and enhanced iPhone applications, an Android smartphone application and The Business Times' iPad and smartphone applications. SPH's Chinese flagship newspaper Lianhe Zaobao has also launched its digital editions which include a web application, as well as online and PDF versions. Other businesses SPH MediaWorks Ltd On 6 June 2000, SPH MediaWorks was set with the aim of breaking into the broadcasting business, and received Singapore's second nationwide free-to-air terrestrial television broadcasting service licence on 6 May 2001. SPH soon afterwards launched two channels, Channel U (Mandarin) and Channel i (English). On 31 December 2004, SPH sold its television operation to MediaCorp, restoring its former monopoly status. Channel i was shut down on 1 January 2005, but Channel U continues to operate. Through a merger, SPH retains a 20% stake in MediaCorp's television operational, as well as 40% stake in Today newspaper. Radio Broadcasting In the radio business, SPH Radio Pte Ltd, which operates entertainment stations UFM 100.3 & (recently newly added) 96.3 HaoFM in Mandarin, as well as Kiss 92FM and One FM 91.3 in English. SPH has a 20 per cent stake in MediaCorp TV Holdings Pte Ltd, which operates free-to-air channels 5, 8 and U, and a 40 per cent stake in MediaCorp Press Limited, which publishes the free newspaper, Today. M1 Limited SPH Multimedia Ltd has 13.94% shareholding in M1 Limited and has a joint venture with Axiata (Malaysia) and Keppel Telecoms. Events and out-of-home advertising SPH's events arm Sphere Exhibits organises innovative consumer and trade events and exhibitions as well as large scale conferences in Singapore and the region. In addition, SPH has ventured into out-of-home (OOH) advertising through its digital out-of-home platform SPHMBO. Book Publishing SPH's subsidiaries, Straits Times Press and Focus Publishing, produce quality books and periodicals in English and Chinese. SPH Buzz SPH Buzz, a modern retail convenience chain with a network of stores around Singapore. MindChamps SPH has a 22 per cent stake in preschool and enrichment provider MindChamps. Properties SPH's latest retail development project, The Seletar Mall, began operations in late 2014. SPH's wholly owned subsidiary, Times Development Pte Ltd, has also developed a 43-storey upmarket residential condominium, Sky@eleven, at Thomson Road. SPH REIT SPH REIT is a Singapore-based REIT established to invest in a portfolio of income-producing real estate primarily for retail purposes. SPH REIT comprises two retail malls, The Paragon and The Clementi Mall. Paragon is a prime retail and office complex in the heart of Orchard Road, Singapore's main shopping belt. The Clementi Mall is a mid-market suburban mall in the centre of Clementi town. References External links * *''CLEO Singapore]'' *''The Singapore Women's Weekly'' *''The Finder Singapore'' *''Harper's Bazaar Singapore'' Category:Singapore Press Holdings Category:Publishing companies established in 1984 Category:Companies of Singapore Category:Companies listed on the Singapore Exchange Category:Convenience stores of Singapore